


the Holiday

by Browneyesparker



Series: Christmas 2015 [4]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-04 19:40:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5346197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two women, one from Tennessee and one from New York swap homes at Christmastime after bad breakups with their boyfriends. One woman finds romance with a local man and the other one finds friendship but realizes that the imminent return home may end the relationship. Based on the Holiday. Rated T. Joshaya. Minor Rucas. Mentions of Smarkle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here’s a special sneak peek of my multi-chapter Christmas story. I hope you will all enjoy it and tell me what you think.

** **

 

**.**

 

**Chapter 1**

“Miss Hart? Miss Hart? Miss Hart?”

Maya Hart looked up from her piano and pushed an unruly lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “Yes?”

“Big Machine Records is on line one, they want to talk to you about your collaboration with Taylor Swift,” her assistant, Isadora Smackle answered as she adjusted her fir green glasses.

“Yeah, it just isn’t working right now,” Maya replied. “It’s like I’m _blocked_.”

“Like writer’s block?” Isadora asked. “You know most songwriters would _kill_ to work with Taylor Swift, it’s like the easiest job on earth. She usually has tons of ideas right out of the gate.”

“Right, I know. It’s a dream to work with Taylor Swift, instant notary, she usually has half of the song written before you even begin. . . but the trouble is, I don’t do happy and right now it’s like she’s the happiest woman in America.”

“Well, she did just marry Calvin Harris. . . they’re still the number one power couple in the world.”

“Right but _I_ don’t do happy! And I didn’t really think she did either, I mean didn’t she say that she wasn’t ever going to write an album full of happy songs?” Maya asked.

“It’s just one song. . .” Isadora answered. “Come on, step outside your comfort zone. When was the last time you were _really_ happy?”

Maya shot her a look. “Put the record company through, Is.”

“Fine,” Isadora replied. “Um, before I forget there’s something I need to ask you when you’re done with Big Machine Records.”

“We’ll grab lunch,” Maya promised as she went over to her desk and waited for Isadora to put her call through.

An hour later, she had agreed that she would do her best to honor her contract with the record label. She was banging her head against the palm of her hand when Isadora came back in wearing her coat and scarf.

“Did you forget we were going to get lunch?”

“No, of course not! I’m coming right now,” Maya answered, getting her own coat and her purse.

Fifteen minutes later, they were being seated at their favorite Chinese food restaurant. Maya pretended to look over the menu even though she was going to order the same thing she always got while Isadora stirred her straw around in her Coke, she looked like she was debating if she should ask her question or wait until after they were done eating.

“Didn’t you say that you had something to ask me?” Maya asked, helping her along a little bit.

“Um. . . yes,” Isadora answered weakly. “I was wondering. . . well, I wanted to know if maybe you would give me a week off at Christmas? Farkle wants to go out of the country and he asked me to go with him. . .”

Maya studied her. “You’re _still_ dating that tech geek?”

“Actually, he’s a partner at his father’s company _and_ he has a trust fund!” Isadora replied defensively.

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know. . . he said it was somewhere romantic,” Isadora hedged.

“Aha! I bet you anything you’re going to come back after the New Year with a rock on your left hand, fourth finger!” Maya said.

“He-he hasn’t mentioned anything about that,” Isadora told her.

“Well maybe he wants it to be a surprise,” Maya answered, snapping the menu shut. “Well, Isadora, you _may_ have that week off. But I expect you to be back at the office on January forth with my coffee at 8am, _sharp_!”

“Yes ma’am! I mean, of course Maya! Thank you!” Isadora said. “So, what are _you_ going to do for the holidays?”

Maya shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll stick around here, work on Taylor’s song. . .”

“But what will you do on _Christmas_ day? Spend it with your mother and Shawn?”

Maya shook her head. “They asked for me to come but if I went over, I’d only feel like an intruder on their new lives.”

“I’m sure _they_ wouldn’t feel that way,” Isadora answered.

“You know what, let’s not talk about it. Okay?”

“I hate to think of you all alone on Christmas. . .” Isadora started to say.

But Maya shook her head, cutting her off abruptly. “Don’t worry about me, Is.”

“But I am you’re more than my boss. You’re my friend,” Isadora told her as she started in on the appetizers their waiter had brought them. They were frequent customers, so the whole staff knew their order very well.

“You know what you should do for the holidays, Miss Hart?” Their waiter asked as he refreshed Isadora’s Coke.

“I don’t come here so you can give me _advice_ , Ranger Rick!” Maya retorted.

“You could trade houses with somebody for two weeks during the holidays,” he said.

_“Friar,”_ Maya said through her teeth. “Just take our order and get out of here! Okay?”  

“But I haven’t even told you _why_ it’s a good idea for you to trade houses with somebody.”

“Yeah, I don’t really care,” Maya answered. “Because I’m not going to do it, I have a million things to do and the holidays will be a perfect time to get them done. Now go and place our order!”

“Say please and I’ll do it faster.”

“Will you please go and place our order, Lucas?” Isadora asked because she knew Maya would die before asking him to do anything nicely.

“The usual?” Lucas asked.

“The usual,” Maya confirmed tersely.

“You’ve been awfully tense since Garrett broke up with you for his childhood friend, Delia,” Isadora started.

“He was _cheating_ on me with Delia,” Maya reminded her.

“Who knew that he had it in him,” Isadora muttered, she cleared her throat. “Maybe Lucas _is_ right, maybe you need to get out of Tennessee for a little while. It might do you some good to get out of town and away from all the garbage here.”

“Don’t _you_ start, Isadora! Don’t you dare start! I’m fine, I swear I am. I’ll be fine after Christmas!”

“You’ve been saying that for the past six months! I’ll be fine after Fourth of July, I’ll be fine after Labor Day, I’ll be fine after Halloween, after Thanksgiving. All those holidays have come and gone and you’re still not fine.”

“Stop it, okay?

“Sorry,” Isadora muttered, stabbing a spring roll with her chopstick. “I was just trying to help.”

Maya sighed. “No, _I’m_ sorry Isadora. I’m just a little stressed out, I should be nicer to you. I want you to come back when Christmas is over, after all.”

Isadora smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll always come back no matter what. Unless, you know, you fire me.”

Maya shook her head. “Not a chance. It takes forever to break in a new assistant and really, I think I’d scare everybody away.”

“Well, I’m sure there are a few people out there who wouldn’t be intimidated by you,” Smackle assured her.

“You may be right but _I_ am yet to meet them!” Maya answered as she sipped at her Diet Coke.

“Well, maybe something is going to happen this Christmas,” Isadora said sagely.

“Maybe,” Maya replied, shaking her head. “Maybe not.”

“Oh come on, where’s your sense of optimism?” Isadora asked.

“Is, if I had a sense of optimism, I wouldn’t be half the songwriter I am today!”

“You don’t know that because you haven’t tried!” Isadora protested. “If you give me anything for Christmas this year, give me _that_. Who cares about Gucci shoes or Prada bags or a huge bonus? All I want is for you to be happy, Boss.”

**.**

Two days later, Maya was coming out of a meeting that she had had with Taylor Swift at her mansion. Over iced coffees, the mega star had basically told her the same thing everybody else had told her over the past forty-eight hours.

She needed to find a cheerier persona.

Maya had bitten back a remark about how all her platinum records had depended on broken hearts and her attitude towards soured relationships. She wanted to but she refrained from it because the other woman was literally holding her career in her hands.

Everything the Grammy-winning artist touched turned to gold. Maya had said it before, writing a song with her would do wonders for her career.

That didn’t mean she was going to listen to her advice though.

Because she was fine.

**.**

“They’re getting married, Is!” Maya said, wondering why she was so calm and collected and not crying at all because there had been a time when she thought Garrett would be the one and she really did feel like crying but her eyes were so dry, it wasn’t even funny.

She hadn’t cried since her father had left her and her mother. That had been over twenty years ago, there had to be something wrong with her. Even her assistant cried and Isadora had _Asperger's Syndrome_! Except Maya was beginning to think she had some form of it because she hadn’t cried and she was rude to everybody even when they were trying to be nice to her.

It was no wonder Garrett had cheated on her with somebody else. Although, from things she saw on Facebook, it seemed like Delia was _worse_ than her.

Isadora cleared her throat, jerking Maya out of her head.

“Okay, I’m coming over Maya. We’re going to delete every picture of you and him off Facebook and then you are going to unfriend him. After that, you are going to unfollow him on Instagram and Twitter. And we’re going to drink wine and eat ice cream.”

“I’m fine!” Maya protested.

“Sure,” Isadora placated. “I’m sure you’re doing wonderfully! I’m still coming over because you need a friend right now.”

“But weren’t you supposed to have dinner with Farkle’s parents tonight?” Maya asked.

“Yeah but I’m sure he’ll be fine with it, besides I think he wants me to bow out. At least that’s the vibe I’ve been getting all week.”

Maya scrolled through Garrett’s Facebook page, she wanted to ask Isadora if there was any chance Farkle was cheating on _her_. But she knew it would offend her and besides, there was always the chance he wanted to do something like get his mother’s engagement ring.

After all, Farkle and Isadora _were_ headed off to Europe for the holidays and Maya had predicted the other girl would come home engaged. Suddenly, she realized how little she had in life.

She remembered Lucas Friar’s suggestion about trading houses with somebody in a different state. Maya couldn’t even believe she was considering it but it was better than the alternative, she didn’t want to stick around Tennessee and run into _them_.

She sat down at her desk, plugged _trading houses_ into her server and waited while Google loaded a page of different sites to choose from. She closed her eyes and clicked on the first site.

_“Well, here goes nothing!”_ Maya said.

**TBC. . .**

 

**.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are to the regularly scheduled programming or posting. Whatever way you want to say it. From here on out, I will be only posting on Fridays until we get to the week of Christmas and I need to catch up on my posting because I already have too many chapters planned for the three weeks leading up to Christmas. It might even span into the New Year when “the Holiday” actually ends. We’ll see. Now onto Chapter 2 and Riley.

**.**

**Chapter 2 Riley Matthews**

_One Week Earlier_

“Charlie Gardner, I thought what we had was special. . . _why_ did you cheat on me with Missy Bradford of all people!? You know she was my biggest enemy in high school!” Riley Matthews yelled.

“Riley, Riley that was _high school_!” Charlie answered. “Can’t you put the past behind you?”

“No, I can’t Charlie! Not when the past is in _my_ bedroom, wearing _my_ bathrobe!” Riley answered. “She’s still ruining my life all these years later. We were supposed to get married on Christmas Eve, Charlie! That’s in three weeks!”

“Baby, baby. . . we can still get married!”

“No we can’t! You slept with _Missy_ and don’t try to tell me that it was more than _one_ time either! I know it isn’t true. Zay told me!” Riley ran her fingers through her hair and huffed in frustration. “Why did you do it? Is it because I wouldn’t do it with you? Couldn’t you _just wait_ twenty-one more days!? _Well, couldn’t YOU!?_ ”

“No offense Riles but you’re kind of uptight and I have needs to, you know!” Charlie told her.

“I have needs too Charlie! I _need_ to wait! You know important my virginity is too me! I was saving it for somebody special like my mom and dad did. I was waiting for marriage and you told me that you _respected_ me for that!”

“Ha! You’re so gullible Riley,” Charlie said. “Guys only say that kind of stuff when they want to sleep with you. I don’t know any guy who actually _waited_ until marriage to sleep with their girlfriend!”

“My father and my Uncle Josh. . .”

“That’s _not_ normal Riles!” Charlie told her.

“Oh my gosh!” Riley said. “Well, neither is _lying_!”

“You are so _naïve_!” Charlie answered, shaking his head. “And why can’t you be quiet? You do know Missy is in the other room!”

Riley lowered her voice to a loud whisper. “How long has it been going on!?”

Charlie sighed. “Do you _really_ want to do this Riley?”

“I want to know!”

“A week before we got engaged,” Charlie said. “The first night I asked you to sleep with me and you said no because _true love waits_. That’s a load of bologna, Riles.”

“ _Don’t_ call me Riles!” Riley said as she took her engagement ring off and threw it at his feet. “You and Missy both better be out of here by the time I get back. You can leave your spare key with my neighbor across the hall.”

**.**

“He’s an idiot Riles,” Zay Babineaux said as he plied her with ice cream. “As the song says, you’re the best thing he never had. Or something like that.”

“I wanted to marry him,” Riley answered through a veil of tears. “I _loved_ him, Zay! Does that not mean anything?”

“Well. . .”

Riley sighed and dabbed at her eyes. “Maybe I should have slept with him. Maybe we would still be getting married if I _had_.”

“Girl, you shouldn’t compromise yourself. You’re always telling people _that_. You don’t believe it anymore?”

Riley shook her head. “Of course I still believe it! But I can’t stop thinking about the _what ifs_ , Zay!”

“What if, what if, what if!” Zay repeated, rolling his eyes. “Riley, you know Charlie and Missy always had an off-and-on again thing going on all throughout high school. Don’t think about the _‘what if’s’_! Think about how you missed a _bullet_! At least you found out he was cheating before you got married and had kids.”

Riley released a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. “I feel so pathetic.”

“Don’t feel pathetic baby girl!” Zay said. “I called your mom and dad, they should be here soon to take you home. Everything’s going to be okay in a little while. Weeping endures for a night. . .”

“But joy comes in the morning,” Riley finished for him. “I know, I know but they never tell you how long weeping lasts, exactly.”

“It’ll be over when it’s over,” Zay replied. “That’s when you’ll know.”

“Honey! Zay called us and told us everything!” Topanga Matthews said as she swept into the cafe, her arms outstretched. “I’m so sorry baby. Do you want to sue him?”

Riley fell into her embrace and sighed. “No, it’s okay mommy. I don’t think suing him will help anything.”

“I could beat him up for you,” her little brother Auggie offered.

“Auggie!” Topanga scolded. “What have I told you about fighting? _Violence is never the answer!_ ”

“I wouldn’t mind giving him a black eye,” Riley’s father, Cory said.

“I wouldn’t either,” her Uncle Josh added.

Riley started to cry all over again, her family’s rallying around her was enough to move her to tears.

“I already started to call the guests to tell them the wedding is canceled,” Zay told Topanga. “I figured we should get a head start on it since the date is so close.”

Topanga smiled at her daughter’s friend and nodded in appreciation. “That was very thoughtful of you Isaiah, thank you.”

“I’ll start sending the presents back tomorrow,” Josh offered. “Don’t worry about it, you won’t have to do a _thing_ Riley.”

Riley tried to smile at them, she was thankful. She really was but it felt like her world was falling apart.

**.**

“I can’t stay here anymore,” Riley told her family. “Not during the holidays, not when my wedding was supposed to happen on Christmas Eve! I’m going away, I put my apartment on this website where you can trade your house with somebody for a couple of weeks. If anybody bites, I’m going to take them up on their offer.”

“But Riley! You shouldn’t be alone during the holidays, especially since you’re feeling so blue.”

“Oh come on mom, it isn’t like I’m going away to kill myself!” Riley protested. “I’m going away so I don’t have to be here on what was supposed to be the most important day of my life!”

“At least let us go with you,” Cory tried.

“No! I mean that would be nice but I really want to be _alone_. If you’re all there coddling me, I don’t think it would help anything. I promise, I’ll call you every day and let you know that I’m okay.”

“Well, you are over eighteen now,” Topanga said. “It isn’t like we could stop you even though we would like to.”

“But. . . but. . . but. . .” Cory sputtered, catching Topanga’s look and sighing. “Okay. If you think it’ll help then I guess you _should_ go.”

“Thanks guys!” Riley said in relief. “Besides, it’s been up for a couple of days already. It might not get any attention.”

“If it does, we’ll all try and cope without you!” Topanga told her as she gave Josh, Auggie and Cory her most authoritative look.

“Right!” Josh said, as he pulled some masking tape over the last wedding present he had just finished boxing up.

“Right!” Auggie echoed.

“I guess I’ll try,” Cory said.

“Good,” Topanga replied. “Very good.”

  **.**

One week had gone by when Riley got the E-mail notification that somebody was interested in renting her apartment. She opened it eagerly and scanned the brief message.

_Dear Miss Matthews,_

_My name is Maya Hart and I live in Nashville, Tennessee where I am a songwriter. I am interested in trading places with you because you live in an apartment where as everybody else on this site lives in a house. Since I’ll only be there a short time, I have no interest in keeping up anybody’s house for them._

_I have a very important song to work on for a big name singer whose name I cannot mention because of confidentiality agreements I have signed. Even she said I needed to go away somewhere and “get happy”._

_I have not been very happy since I found out my boyfriend was cheating on me and has since gotten engaged to the girl he had an affair with. Not that I should be writing to you about those things, since we are strangers and I am only interested in trading spaces with you._

_I hear New York is beautiful during Christmas._

_Hopefully we can work something out._

_Sincerely,_

_Maya Hart_

Riley was attracted to her request right away and not because she had been the only person interested enough to stay in her apartment but because their stories were so similar. She logged onto the website and typed up a reply, telling her that she was more than welcome to have her apartment for the holidays.

A few seconds later, she was in a chat session with the other girl.

_M - Just a quick question. You don’t know many single men, around there do you? I don’t want anything to do with men right now._

_R - No. Well. . ._

_R - My brother and uncle are single but don’t worry about it. They won’t bother you. Auggie has an understanding with his friend Ava and my uncle is a widower, he isn’t interested in ANY girls right now. I swear!_

There was a long pause and Riley thought Maya Hart had left the chat. But a few seconds later there was another _ping_.

_M - Sounds fantastic!_

**TBC. . .**

 

**.**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, as Norah Jones once said the stage has been set for a play. I hope you will see this story through. I’m sure you have a bunch of questions by now. I promise that I will answer them all in the chapters that follow. Unless something that comes up that I’m not going to address, then I will send you each a personal message to answer you. More to come soon! In the meantime, I hope you’ll tell me what you thought of this chapter. Just click on the little box below!


	3. Chapter 3

**.**

**Chapter 3**

“Honey, are you sure you want to do this?” Cory asked Riley as they dropped her off at the airport a few days later.

“I’m sure daddy,” Riley assured him. “I _need_ to do this. I know that if I don’t go, the day I was supposed to get married will only be that much harder.”

“I know honey but I was hoping we would be able to make it easier if we were all together,” Cory answered.

“It means a lot to me,” Riley told him. “Daddy, can I come home. . . you know, if I change my mind?”

“Of course you can!” Cory answered, pulling her into a hug. “You know you don’t even need to ask. You can _always_ come home! You know that sweetie.”

“Give me a kiss and let me go before I change my mind,” Riley whispered.

“You think you could change your mind?” Cory asked hopefully.

 _“Daddy!”_ Riley protested.

“You’re right, you’re right!” Cory kissed her on the cheek. “You have to do this. Go on now, you don’t want to miss your plane!”

Riley turned to the rest of her family and gave her mother, brother and uncle each a hug. “Don’t worry guys, I’ll call every single day and I’ll be back in time for the New Year!”

“We know sweetie,” Topanga said. “Go on now. Like your father said, we don’t want you to miss your plane.”

Riley took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay, I’ll see you guys later.”

She wasn’t about to admit it but she was a little reluctant to leave her family so close to the holidays and right after she had been cheated on. But she _needed_ to go all at the same time, so she picked up her suitcase and carry-on bag and walked to the check-in without giving into temptation and looking back at them.

**.**

2 hours and 32 minutes later, she was touching down in Nashville, Tennessee. Her heart was fluttering as she gathered her luggage. She wasn’t sure what to do next when she saw an Asian girl with stylish glasses holding a sign with her name on it in block letters.

“That’s me!” She said.

“Hi Riley! I’m Isadora Smackle,” the other girl said. “I’m Maya’s assistant, she told me that you’d be coming in today and asked if I would be willing to pick you up. Come on, my boyfriend’s in the car. We’re going to take you to lunch and then we’ll drop you off at Maya’s house afterwards.”

Riley instantly felt better knowing that somebody was looking out for her on her first day in a place she had never been before. “Hi Isadora, it’s nice to meet you!”

Isadora nodded. “Maya kind of filled me in on what happened to you. I’m sorry, I can’t begin to even imagine what you’re going through. I’d hate it if I found out my fiancé was cheating on me. Especially if it was right before Christmas and the wedding.”

“Wow. Maya must have really filled you in on a lot!” Riley said as they started to walk for the door.

“Sorry.”

“You’re fine,” Riley assured her, sighing. “And you don’t have to feel sorry for me. Better I find out that he’s cheating _before_ the wedding then afterwards. Right?”

“Well. . . right,” Isadora agreed, pointing to a shiny silver Mercedes-Benz. “My boyfriend’s right over there waiting for us.”

Riley looked over to where she was pointing. A young man in a black turtleneck and tweed dress jacket was leaning against the car and checking messages on his phone. He looked up and put the phone away when he saw them coming towards him.

“This must be Riley Matthews,” he said, pushing his brown hair out of his face. “Nice to meet you, I’m Farkle Minkus.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Riley answered.

“Listen, we heard about your engagement and we’re really sorry,” Farkle told her as he took her luggage from her and put it in the trunk of his car.

Riley sighed. “Thank you,” she said because she didn’t know what else to say and she _was_ grateful for the sympathy, she really was. But she had left New York to recover _without_ people telling her that they were sorry all the time.  “You mentioned something about lunch. I’m _starving_.”

**.**

The café they took her too for lunch was filled with a country version of “Run Run Rudolph” and all sorts of young people, trying to be the next big thing with their guitars and notebooks filled with a catalog of their original work. Because of that, there was a comfortable familiarity of the newness of her surroundings.

It wasn’t unusual to see people trying to make it big in New York.

“You know the drill, seat yourself Is!” A tall young man with blonde hair called from behind the counter. “I’ll be right there!”

“Okay Lucas!” Isadora called back, snagging the last available before a flock of teenage girls in Uggs and Infinity scarves could sit down.

A few minutes later, the young man that Isadora had called Lucas came over to them.

“Hi guys!” He said, looking pointedly at Riley. “This must be New York!”

Isadora nodded. “We just picked her up from the airport. We’re getting lunch before we drop her off at Maya’s house.”

“Well, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Lucas asked.

“Oh. _Right!_ ” Isadora said. “Lucas meet Riley, Riley this is Lucas. He’ll be looking out for you while Farkle and I are in Europe.”

“You’re going to Europe? Maya didn’t mention anything about Europe. . .”

“Yeah, we’re going to Europe for Christmas,” Isadora answered. “Are you sure Maya didn’t tell you that we were leaving? I mean, we’ve been planning this for a while.”

“She does have a lot on her mind these days,” Farkle reminded her. “Maybe she thought you were going to tell Riley?”

Isadora smiled at Lucas. “Would you bring us three sweet teas, please?”

“Coming right up!” Lucas answered cheerfully, grinning at Riley. “It’s so nice to meet you! I’m looking forward to getting to know you the next couple of weeks.”

“Same. . . I’m sure!” Riley replied. She turned to Farkle and Isadora when he had left. “Maya told me that I wasn’t going to have to deal with single men while I was here!”

“How do you know Lucas is single?” Farkle asked. “He could be married with triplets, a dog and two cats.”

“He _could_ ,” Riley agreed. “But he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.”

“Maybe he doesn’t wear one because he doesn’t want to get bacon grease all over it,” Isadora said, giggling a little bit as she looked over the menu.

“I don’t believe you.”

“You shouldn’t,” Farkle answered. “He’s so not married. In fact, I can’t remember the last time that he had a girlfriend.”

“He was single when he came to Tennessee and he hasn’t dated anybody since,” Isadora reminded him.

“Maybe that’ll change,” Farkle said syly.

“No. No. No. NO!” Riley answered. “I have _no_ intentions on getting into another relationship so soon after my last one failed. I’m not the kind of girl who believes in rebound.”

Lucas appeared with their drinks then. “Are you ready to order?” he asked as he set the glasses down and tossed three straws on the table.

“Every single fried food on the menu with a large side of mac & cheese,” Isadora answered. “Riley here is in need of major comfort food.”

Lucas nodded. “Oh yes, the broken engagement. Fried food coming right up!”

Riley sighed. “Why not? It isn’t like I have a wedding dress that I need to fit into anymore. Bring it on.”

Isadora eyed her and shook her head. “I don’t think you could ever be fat, Riley.”

Lucas reappeared with a basket of fried pickles and put them down on the table. “On the house, a welcome to Tennessee special just for you Riley.”

Riley wrinkled her nose. “Thank you, I guess.”

“I’ll be right out with the rest of your order,” Lucas told them. “Enjoy.”

“Well, it is the holidays,” Riley said, picking up a fork and taking a pickle. “Bottoms up!”

**.**

“I didn’t know Maya lived in a _house_!” She said when they drove up Maya’s driveway an hour later.

“Maya continues to be a woman of mystery,” Farkle answered, parking the car.

“I’ve never lived in a house in all my life,” Riley explained as she unbuckled and tucked the slip of paper with Lucas’s number in her coat pocket. “But that’s New York City for you. Where would they put a house.”

“Where indeed,” Isadora replied, leading her up to the house and unlocking the door for Riley. “Actually, we’ve never actually been to New York but we’d like to go one day. Farkle, did you get Riley’s suitcase?”

“Coming sweetie!” Farkle answered.

Once inside, Isadora gave Riley the tour of the house.

“This is the kitchen,” she said. “We barely use it though. We usually eat out except for breakfast, if you want to cook then we can take you to the grocery store to buy food. Otherwise, you’re going to be very dependent on Lucas for meals.”

“Fried pickles?” Riley asked, wrinkling her nose.

“There’s more than fried food on the menu,” Isadora assured her. “The next room is the living room. Maya has about a zillion remotes, I can’t begin to tell you what they’re all for. If you want to watch anything, you’re better off watching it on your computer. But if you want to stream it on your TV, the eggshell colored remote with the black backing is to turn the TV on. Maya has Chrome, so you can force stream it.

“To your left is Maya’s music room. She said it isn’t off-limits but she requests you don’t go through any of her papers or sheet music. They’re organized _very_ specifically. And some of them are confidential. Like the project she is working on now. You didn’t hear this from me but Miss Swift is involved-”

“Hold on!” Riley interrupted. “You said Miss _Swift_. Were you by any chance referring to _Taylor Swift_?”

Isadora nodded. “That was indeed the Miss Swift to whom I was referring to. Maya told me that I could tell you if you agreed to keep it strictly confidential.”

Riley nodded. “You don’t have to worry about me. Who am I going to tell? Lucas? _Please!_ I’ll be as silent as the grave.”

“Good. Now, my office is across the hall. All your filing supply needs can be found there. Also, all the emergency numbers are on the yellow legal pad on my desk, near the landline. If you need anything, anything at all you can call any of the numbers there. Including mine and Farkle’s and we’ll try our best to help you. Follow me upstairs, I’ll show you to your room.

You’ll be sleeping in the master bedroom because we’ve been using the guest room for storage and we didn’t have time to clear it out.”

“I put Maya in _my_ master bedroom!” Riley said excitedly. “Except, well I only have a four room apartment. So, there really wasn’t anywhere else to put her except for the pullout bed in the living room.”

“Well, I’m sure Maya wouldn’t have minded if she did have to sleep in the living room,” Isadora answered. “She’s wanted to go to New York for the inspiration. Not for the apartments. She’s kind of been a downer these days, as you can imagine her song lyrics were pretty gloomy. You didn’t hear it from me but it wasn’t the sound that Miss Swift was going for, _at all_.”

“But she’s famous for her angsty lyrics! You would think that she’d be okay with it. . .” Riley said.

“Oh sure, but she’s going in a different direction. Well, she is for _this_ album at least,” Isadora answered. “But I’ve said more than I should.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Riley promised.

“I know. You’re the kind of girl a person can trust,” Isadora said. “Anyways, the bedroom is through there. I have to run now, I still have to finish packing before Farkle and I leave tomorrow. If you want dinner, the takeout menus are by the fridge. Or I could come back and take you to the store, like I said.”

“I’ll be fine. I don’t think I could eat after that lunch,” Riley answered. “I hope you enjoy your time in Europe, Isadora. It was nice meeting you.”

“You too! Merry Christmas Riley, enjoy your stay here in Tennessee. Remember to call us if you need anything. Anything at all.”

“I will.”

And then Riley was all by herself for the first time since she found out that Charlie was cheating on her.

**.**

New York was colder than Tennessee.

Maya’s first order of business in the city was going to be finding a heavier winter coat. She rubbed her arms and grabbed her luggage, looking around for a taxi. A beat-up old truck pulled up to the curb beside her.

A black young man rolled the passenger window down and looked at her. “Are you Maya Hart?” he asked.

“Who wants to know?” Maya asked.

“I’m Zay, a friend of Riley Matthews. She asked me to come and pick you up. Sorry, I’m a little late but I forgot that she asked me to get you. . .”

“It’s fine,” Maya answered. “Could you take me to a clothing store? I need a better coat than the one I brought with me.”

“Um. . . I could bring you to Demolition,” Zay replied.

“That’ll be fine,” Maya said, folding her arms across her chest to ward off the chill.

“Well, aren’t you going to get in?” Zay asked.

“Aren’t you going to help me with my suitcase?” Maya retorted.

“Ohhhhh. _Right!_ ” Zay nodded and got unbuckled, he scrambled out of the car and around to where Maya was standing. “Sorry about that.”

“I’m sure,” Maya said, climbing into the truck after he had opened the door for her.

Zay tossed her suitcase in the back of the car and got back in. “So, off to Demolition then?”

“Please,” Maya answered as he started to speed away from the airport. 

**TBC. . .**

 

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Maya will see Riley’s apartment and meet Josh for the first time. There will be an instant connection but Mays is going to fight it. You’ll get hints about Josh’s backstory but you’ll see I can drag out what happened for a few more chapters when he and Maya really start to open up to each other. In Tennessee, Riley will totally fall apart but Lucas will step in and help her. Still only friendship driven as far as I know. Hope you’ll leave a review and tell me what you thought!
> 
> Until Next Time!


	4. Chapter 4

**.**

**Chapter 4**

After purchasing a winter coat at Demolition, Zay took Maya to Riley’s apartment. There was a tall, dark-haired young man standing on the stone steps, clearly waiting for them.

“That’s Josh,” Zay told her. “Riley’s uncle, he’ll be looking out for you while you’re here.”

“I thought Riley said there weren’t any single men around here,” Maya answered.

“This is New York, there are _tons_ of single men around here,” Zay told her. “But Josh won’t be an issue.”

“Oh, he won’t?”

“Josh isn’t interested in women.”

“So, Josh is _gay_ then?” Maya asked.

Zay snorted. “Not by a long shot. He lost his wife a few years ago. Riley must have told you that.”

“She may have mentioned he was a widower,” Maya answered vaguely, looking out the windshield at Josh as he approached the truck. “He looks so sad and lonely.”

“I guess he is,” Zay said. “Listen, I got to go girl. You’re in good hands with Josh. He’ll take care of you, don’t worry about a thing.”

“You’re not sticking around then?” Josh asked when Maya opened the passenger door.

“Nope. I have to get back to work,” Zay replied. “Whatever time I had was _wasted_ buying Maya Hart here a heavier winter coat.”

“I didn’t realize how cold it would be!” Maya protested. “I’m sorry.”

“Zay, leave her alone,” Josh said, smiling at Maya.

Maya felt her heart flutter a little, he had the nicest smile she had ever seen. She swallowed and reminded herself that she had come to New York to get over Garrett and concentrate on her songwriting, not to pursue relationships with tragic men who were most likely unemotionally available .  

A widower.

She really would have dated them all if she went for him.

But she didn’t have to worry about it because Zay had said that Josh wasn’t interested in women right now. She put the thought out of her head and slipped out of the truck. “Thanks for the ride Zay and for taking me to get a warmer coat.”

“No problem!” Zay answered cheerfully. “Yo, Josh, her suitcase is in the backseat if you want to get it for her.”

“Oh, sure!” Josh replied, pulling the backseat door open and grabbing the suitcase.

As was per usual, Zay sped off as soon as the door was closed. Josh turned to Maya and smiled again.

“Hey, I’m Josh Matthews,” he said, offering her his hand.

“Maya Hart,” she answered, firmly shaking his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, to finally put faces to names.”

“I’ll take you to meet the family tomorrow. Topanga thought it would be a good idea to let you settle in tonight before overwhelming you with everyone.”

“Oh. . . I-I-I didn’t think I’d be with people for the holidays!” Maya said. “I mean. . . I’m working on a very important song right now. . .”

“I’ll give you the whole day and then I’ll come around and get you for dinner. How about that?” Josh said.

“Well. . .”

“Come on, everybody would _love_ to meet you,” Josh said, carrying her suitcase up the stairs, with Maya close behind him. He gestured towards the keypad. “Want to put the security number in for me?”

Maya took out her phone, pulled up her notes and then punched in the numbers one-by-one. “There you go.”

“Thanks,” Josh answered. “So, dinner tomorrow night? I mean with the family?”

Maya sighed. “Sure, why not?”

“Good! I’ll tell Topanga that you’re coming then! Come on, I’ll take you up to Riley’s apartment,” Josh said.

“Thanks,” Maya answered, offering him a smile.

He laughed and then rubbed the back of his neck before looking away from her quickly. Maya felt a little awkward, she cleared her throat. “What floor?” she asked.

“The top floor,” Josh answered, following her onto the elevator.

They stood next to each other in silence that was anything but uncomfortable, while Maya clutched her guitar case and Josh tapped his foot on the floor. There were a dozen questions on the tip of her tongue, but she knew that since they were complete strangers that she didn’t have the right to ask him about them.

The elevator pinged and the doors rolled open. Maya released a breath and stepped off of it.

“Are you coming with me?” Maya asked, turning around to look at him.

“Well, I do have the spare key,” Josh answered. “And I did promise Riley, I would see that you were settled.”

“That was very sweet of you but you really don’t have to see that I get settled. . . I’ve been on my own for a long time now,” Maya told him.

“That may be true but you’re still a stranger in a strange land. I would feel better knowing you were settled and safe.”

“Well, it’s a free country,” Maya muttered. “You can do whatever you like.”

“Funny how it works that way, isn’t it?” Josh replied, grinning at her.

Maya’s heart fluttered again. He really did have the nicest smile that she had ever seen and he could give Lucas Friar a run for his money with his cheekbones and thick dark hair that kind of flopped in front of his eyes like he was still in high school.

And _she_ was staring at him like _she_ was still in high school.

She was glad he was too busy unlocking the door to notice. She quickly averted her eyes before he could notice that she was looking at him.

“Are you coming?” Josh asked.

“Yeah,” Maya answered. “Show me my home for the next couple of weeks, please.”

“If you would just follow me please,” Josh replied, smiling at her.

Maya stepped into the apartment. It was small but cheerful, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was outside a window where a wall should have been. Next to the window was a tinier tree, decorated with multicolored lights and funky ornaments.

“Do you like it?” Josh asked as he closed the door behind him.

Maya nodded and pulled off her coat. “I think it’ll do quite nicely,” she answered.

“Good. The kitchen’s over there,” Josh said, pointing across the living room. “Riley left lasagna for you in the fridge for your dinner tonight. I’m supposed to take you to get wine and Italian bread if you’re interested.”

“I wouldn’t want to put you out.”

“I don’t really have anything going on. I mean there is this one paper I have to write for grad school but that can wait, it isn’t due until after the New Year,” Josh answered. “Come on, I’ll take you to the bedroom.”

“Oh really?” Maya teased.

Josh blushed. “I didn’t mean it like _that_ Maya! I mean, we only just met and. . .” he trailed off, turning even redder.

Maya dropped her coat on the couch and refrained from teasing him anymore or from mentioning that lots of people slept together after they had just met. She was sure he wouldn’t appreciate the comment.

He wasn’t really like any of the other guys that she had ever met.

In fact, when they got to the bedroom, he stood in the hallway while she explored it. It was tinier than her master bedroom but it wasn’t Harry Potter’s closet either. She turned around and looked at Josh.

“You don’t just have to stand there,” she told him. “You could come in you know. That joke a little bit ago, it was just a joke. If we’re going to spend the next couple of weeks together, you have to know that I say stupid things sometimes. I don’t think twice before I speak. Come on, don’t be shy.”

“I’m not _shy_ ,” Josh answered sheepishly as he came in and propped her suitcase and guitar up against the bureau. “Well. Do you like it?”

“You don’t have to keep asking me that, you know,” Maya told him, folding her arms across her chest. “I like everything just fine, thank you very much.”

“Good. I’m glad. Be sure to let Riley know, okay? She was really worried about you’re not liking it.”

“Dude, I’m in an apartment in _New York_ freaking _City_! What’s _not_ to like?” Maya answered, unfolding her arms and smiling at him. “Now come on, I think you said something about Italian bread and wine?”

“I know the perfect place to get it,” Josh replied, smiling at her in return.

“Maybe you could stay for dinner,” Maya said as she went back to the living room to retrieve her coat. “Show me how to heat up an oven because I’m going to be honest here, I never cook. I eat out all of the time.”

“I think I could do _that_ ,” Josh agreed willingly.

**.**

Riley rummaged through the medicine for Alka-Seltzer Plus or Tums. If she ever saw fried _anything_ again, it would be too soon. She groaned when all she found was an empty package of Band-Aids, two Tampons and an empty bottle of Midol.

Maya was not very well stocked. Riley could not help but wonder how the other girl did it as she wandered to the kitchen to see if there was any plain seltzer water in the fridge. There was a tiny bottle of Pellegrino, she grabbed it gratefully and unscrewed the cap before starting to take tiny sips of it.

There was a knock on the door, Riley groaned as she went to answer it. Her eyes widened with surprise when she saw Lucas standing on the porch.

“Hey,” he said cheerfully, holding up bags from Kroger’s. “Isadora said that you might need some groceries.”

“There better be lots of fruit and lots of vegetables in that bag,” Riley answered as she opened the screen door for him.

“Fried food not sitting well with you?” Lucas asked as he followed her into the kitchen.

“Ugh,” Riley groaned again as her stomach rumbled in protest. “Don’t even mention _it_ to me!”

“I can fix that,” Lucas told her.

“You’re the one who got me into this mess!” Riley retorted.

“Hey, I just serve the food!” Lucas protested as he plopped the bags on the counter and then started to search the cabinets for spices and apple cider vinegar. He mixed it all up in water and then handed it to her.

Riley made a face after she took the first sip. “Who would drink such a vile concoction!?” she asked.

“People who want their indigestion to go away,” Lucas said. “Bottom’s up, City Girl! I’ll stay with you until you start to feel better.”

“Thanks,” Riley replied, wrinkling her nose before taking another sip.

“You go and relax, maybe put on a Christmas movie or something. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Lucas told her.

An hour later, Riley was feeling infinitely better. Lucas’s disgusting drink had actually settled her stomach and she was a little hungry for dinner. All she wanted was a salad loaded with veggies and maybe a fruit smoothie but at least it was _something_. When the heartburn had first hit, she hadn’t thought that she’d ever be able to eat anything again.

She had asked for an adventure. Who knew that the first one would be a culinary one that would cause her stomach to be upset? She hoped that the rest of them would go smoothly and wouldn’t end with her feeling sick.

**TBC. . .**

 

**.**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting next chapter, I’ll be really getting into it. Maya will meet Josh’s family and they’ll grow a little closer. It’s definitely going to be love at first sight for our favorite pairing. Meanwhile, Riley and Lucas will embark on a friendship because her own heartache is a little fresher than Maya’s. I hope you’ll stick around! Please tell me what you thought of this chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is shorter than I wanted it to be but I am going to rectify that with other chapters, I promise. The next chapter is going to be from Riley’s POV. I know some people who ship Joshaya do not ship Rucas. I am telling you now that this is sort of a Rucas story but not as much as it is a Josh & Maya story. Right now the general plan is to focus on a Lucas-Riley friendship as opposed to a romantic relationship. IF my muse takes me in a different direction, I might follow it but as for now there is no romance. If you read chapter 2, you’ll find out why there won’t be. Also, I promise I am going to develop a Riley/Maya friendship throughout this story. 
> 
> Whatever interactions Maya has with Taylor Swift will be off-scene and you’ll only hear about them afterwards. I feel extremely uncomfortable writing about real life people in fan fiction but I have mad respect for all the people who are confident enough to write it and post it. 
> 
> Lastly, if you were wondering, yes Delia and Garrett were an IDDI reference. Like Taylor Swift, Maya will actually never have any on the page interaction with them so I don’t have to make it a crossover story.
> 
> I’m excited to write this. I hope you are excited to join me on the journey.


End file.
